Eye for guy attachments.



C. L. MATTHEWS.

EYE FOR GUY ATTACHMENTS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 30.1915.

1,227, 1 68. Patented May 22, 1917.

' C/dude L. Ndfl/Yewa.

mum/w UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcu. 1

CLAUDE L. MATTHEWS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR T0 W. N. MATTHEWS AND BROTHER, INC., 013 ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW MEXICO.

EYE FOR GUY ATTACHMENTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAUDE L. MATH-laws, a citizen of the United States, residing at city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have. invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Eyes for Guy Attachments, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which This invention relates to an improvement in the form and construction of means for the attachment of flexible strands, such as cables or guy wires, to a suitable stay member, such as an anchor or guy rod.

As is well known in the art, in order to properly support and brace tall objects such as poles, stacks, etc., it is customary to sink some sort of an anchor member in the ground, such as a ground anchor or dead man which anchor member is provided with a stay rod which projects out of the ground. A flexible member, such as a cable or guy, is attached to the object to be braced and to the guy rod, the flexible member being drawn taut and firmly secured 'so as to provide an effective stay for preventing fall-- ing or bending of the member supported.

The object of my present invention is to provide an improved arrangement at the end of the rod which is designed to facilitate the operation of tautening the flexible member, which" the friction due to its rubbing on the stay rod, and which will prevent its kinking or crystallizing at the point 1 of attachment thereto. y

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated forms of my invention and its mode of use.

In said drawings, Figure 1 represents a side view of a ground anchor equipped with my improvement and associated with a :flexible member in the form of a cable or guy.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of one form of my improved device.

Fig. 3 is a view partly in section substantially-on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 but with the addition of the flexible member shown as attached thereto.

Referring more specifically to the illustrations, let 1 represent a ground anchor which is designed to be sunk in the ground Specification of Letters Patent.

will prevent its wearing from:,

Patented a 22, 1917.

Application filed July 30, 19 15. Serial No. 42,855.

and which has aflixed thereto the guy rod 2. which is of such length as to extend above the surface of the ground when the anchor is properly sunk. 4 is an eye member disposed at the upper extremity of the rod 2 and which may be in the nature of a separate part threaded onto the rod or may be formed of a part integral with the rod. This eye member is provided with an aperture 5 and terminates in a bearing member 6. Encircling the bearing member 6 and movable thereon through the, aperture 5 is a ring member 7. This ring member has its, outer face dished, or provided with an annular depression forming marginal retaining flanges 8 and a seat portion 9. The seat portion is circular perimetrical of the ring member. The inner face of the ring member is circular and has surface bearing on the bearing member 6, asillustrated in Fig. 3.

In the device as illustrated the eye member has side parts 10, which cooperate with the retaining flanges 8 to keep the ring member centered on the bearing member 6.

When it is desired to employ my improvement in the stringing of 'a guy, a flexible guy member 11 is attached to the object to be supported, and its lower end passed through the aperture 5 and about the ring member 7 in such position that itvwill occupy the seat portion between the retaining flanges 8. Then by the application'of suitable power on the free end of the flexible member it is drawn taut. In'this operation the ring member rotates upon the bearing member 6, permitting the slack in the flexible member to be taken up rapidly and without interference on the part of the eye member or ring member. In this operation also the ring member prevents frictional rubbing of the flexible member against any portion of the eye member, thereby obviating the I possibility of fraying the flexible member,

' ring or crystallization thereof in case it is made of metal, The ring member also holds the loop in the flexible member distended so as to prevent it bending sharply and-crystallizing in case it is made of metal.

In the operation of tautening the flexible member, illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 will keep the ring member centered so as to prevent the flexible member running oflf of the ring member, and in the form illustrated in Fig. &, the curved form of the bearing member 6 will cause the ring member to center in the vertex of the curve in line with the rod. I am aware that spreaders-or thimbles ,/have'been employed to hold loops open or distended. Such, however, heretofore have been of extended.- or irregular form, and in applying the flexible member thereto, under the circumstances in which guys are usually rigged, it is necessary to slip the flexible member around the thimble in taking up the slack. This operation, as well as the proper centering of the thimble in the loop requires considerable time, and makes difficult the operation of drawing the flexible member taut. v

My invention constitutes a distinct improvement over such devices, in that it perthe side portions 10 of the formmits the direct application of power, prevents all friction between the flexible member and the attaching eye or the ring, and is self-centering.

I claim: 'An attachment for flexible guys comprising an eye member provided with an aperture and having a bearing member at its 'extremityformed with an arcuate bearing face, a ring member passing through said aperture and revoluble about said bearing member, said ring member having a circular inner face shaped to have surface contact with the bearing member and being formed with a circular perimetrical seat and a retaining flange at each side of the seat, the

eye member being formed with side parts adapted to center the ring member on the bearing member. e

- In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses, this twenty-thirdday of July, 1915.

CLAUDE .L. MATTHEWS. 

